


On purpose

by fandomaffected



Category: Bates Motel (2013)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 02:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10526973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomaffected/pseuds/fandomaffected
Summary: Alex is frustrated that he gets to see Norma so little, despite staying at her motel. He doesn't mind ruining a few clothes to get to talk to her though.





	

**Author's Note:**

> As awesomely carefree as Mother is, I miss the real Norma. I also miss Normero. I also like to write shitty fanfiction, so here you go.

Alex doesn’t even notice his shirt is ripped until Norma points it out.

He’s had a long day at work, and he’s almost managed to slip into his room unnoticed when Norma comes out from the motel office.

“Alex.” She says. “Come here for a second.”

He sighs and turns around, walking towards her. As soon as he’s within arm’s length she grabs the bottom of his shirt. Following her eyes, he notices a hole in it. He doesn’t know how or when it happened, he’s had such a stressful day he could barely remember to eat lunch.

Alex looks at Norma while she’s studying his shirt. He finds himself mesmerized by her when she’s not looking. Whenever she isn’t speaking with someone else she seems to slip away into her own mind for a while, and he would probably murder to even get a glimpse of what’s going on behind her eyes.

“You know, I just took some of your clothes up for washing, I could take this with me and fix it.” Norma says, and as soon as she’s said the words Alex is shaking his head. He has to draw the line at her washing his clothes.

“Norma, it’s fine, I’ll just buy a new one.” He tries to protest, but she’s stubborn, and after an awkward trip to his room to change, he ends up handing Norma his shirt anyway.

“Thank you. Just tell me if there’s something else you would like fixed.” She says, and she’s on her way to the house before he’s even able to think about responding.

* * *

 

Norma comes over to his room to hand over his shirt – and his laundry – the next evening. She doesn’t stay long, she has to vacuum, do the dishes and that and that, she is saying so many words in so little time and then she’s out the door again, like she was never there.

The days pass, and Alex almost starts to miss her. As much as he hates how she completely takes over a conversation, he misses seeing her. There is something about Norma Bates that he can’t put his finger on, and when five days have passed and the only conversation they’ve had was a brief good morning, he starts to get impatient.

He doesn’t know what is happening to him, but he knows it’s happening fast. It’s like Norma has placed some kind of magical drug in the coffee from the motel office. He wants to see her, just talk, anything, when he remembers what she said.

He hurries over to the wardrobe and grabs something not too expensive. He settles on a pair of jeans he barely uses anymore, but she doesn’t need to know that. He knows they already have a small hole in them, which is just going to make it easier.

Alex starts tugging on the fabric, and the hole in the middle of the thigh becomes bigger. When he’s happy with the outcome, he feels like he’s got the key to the pearly gates. Before he can regret his decision, he opens his motel door.

It doesn’t take long for him to get to the house. Light is coming out of the kitchen window – she’s probably making dinner.

He rings the doorbell.

_Shit._

Why did he do that? Gosh, she’s going to think he’s using her just to fix his clothes! And the hole, she’s probably going to notice it was ripped open on purpose, she knows that stuff, right? Why did he ever think this was –

“Alex!”

He freezes. Well, it’s too late now, Norma has already opened the door and is nonchalantly drying her hands on a towel.

“I’m sorry, I’m making dinner. Did you need anything?”

He composes himself, only to start stuttering. Isn’t it weird how it’s not finding a body in the woods or being pointed at with a gun that makes him the most nervous? No, nothing makes him as unsure of himself anymore as being faced with Norma Bates, local motel owner.

The fearless Sheriff is long gone.

“Eh, well… I’m sorry to have to ask this, but… we were looking for a missing dog in the woods today and my pants got ripped by a branch.” He says and holds his jeans up.

“So, if you don’t mind… I mean, you did a great job on the shirt.”

He’s blushing.

Sheriff Romero. The big daddy of White Pine Bay.

Was _blushing._

He’s almost about to turn around, hop in his car and never return when Norma speaks up.

She smiles a mischievous smile. Of course she has picked up on the blushing.

“Alex, don’t lie to me. I’m not going to ask, okay? Just stop coming up with stupid excuses.” If anything, this makes him blush even more.

“Of course I’ll fix them for you.” She says, and he barely has time to squeeze out a small “Thanks.” Before she’s shut the door right in front of him.

He can never show his face here again.

* * *

 

As the days go on, Alex keeps on handing Norma his clothes, even though he’s pretty sure she knows why he is doing it at this point. He has always thought he was a good liar, but this is something new.

In the beginning it was kind of awkward, but what other choice did he have? Alex Romero is not a cheesy romantic who gives women flowers and chocolates. He does not admit his feelings, period.

But now, it’s almost like a game. Usually when he comes home from work he watches TV and eats frozen dinners, but the motel room doesn’t have a TV, and he has to say, this is better.

Much better.

Getting to see her and have a reason to talk to her is of course the best thing about it, but he does enjoy bugging her a bit. He knows she likes it too, he can tell by how she always questions him about his lies while the smirk on her lips grows bigger. He comes up with new lies every time, which just keeps on getting more and more ridiculous, and she tries to pick them apart, piece by piece.

It’s just one thing Alex doesn’t understand:

Even though she could have easily refused to fix his clothes, they always come back to him patched together. He does feel kind of guilty about it, honestly. He has promised himself he’s going to stop for a while now, but he’s addicted. She can bear it, she hasn’t complained so far.

Just one more week.

* * *

 

­­­­­It’s a cold Tuesday morning when he finally realizes he has to stop. He is looking through a pile of clothes on the floor, and he can’t find anything he hasn’t yet given her. Alex hasn’t even thought about how many times he’s been up there, in the midst of all the planning he’s lost count.

It’s a hard decision, this whole setup has just made him even more obsessed with her. It doesn’t matter anymore if it’s only been an hour since he last saw her, he will still find his thoughts wandering towards her eyes, her hair, even her lips. He wants to be near her all the time, never letting her out of his gaze.

Maybe he should ask her out on a date.

At first he laughs at the idea. It would probably be a terrible idea. I terrible and very appealing idea. They would probably bicker all night. Or they could put all that aside for one night and have a really good time.

It’s stupid, she would probably say no. But what if she doesn’t, what if she agrees? Norma is very stubborn though, going out whit him on a date has probably not even crossed her mind. If she does say no, he knows he’ll never be able to look her in the eyes again. What a shame, her eyes really are something. And on top of that, a possible date would be super embarrassing and most likely very awkward and-

Trying to take a step forward, he forgets about the pile of clothes and almost stumbles over it. His eyes settle on the door.

When was the last time he was this drawn to someone?

He takes yet another step towards the door, this one more successful.

He’s got something to ask Norma Bates.

* * *

 

Norma has just put an apple-pie in the oven when the doorbell rings. She smiles. It’s been a few days since Alex was here, and she’s been expecting him to come to her door with a ripped shirt and a bad excuse for a while now.

So when she opens the door, she naturally scans his hand for a piece of clothing.

His hands are empty.

“Hi, Norma.” He says, like it’s the most casual thing, like he’s been saying it every day for several years.

She thinks, maybe having Alex greeting her every day wouldn’t be so bad.

Norma is confused to what he is doing there, but she quickly composes herself.

“Hi Alex.” She says with a smile. “Do you need help with anything?”

Alex smiles a shy smile, and Norma has to admit, she melts. She’s seen him smile more and more these past weeks, and she can’t help but to think it’s because of her.

Norma knows he likes her, it was pretty obvious when he continued to rip his clothes just to get to talk to her.

She knows about that, too.

There’s a small moment of silence, and Norma allows herself to get a bit nervous. Alex isn’t the guy who hesitates telling you about things.

“I was just wondering… Are you free? This weekend? If you want to we can maybe… go out for dinner?”

Norma doesn’t know how to answer at first. She honestly never thought he was going to ask.

“Yes, ok. Sure. Uhm, maybe Friday?” She suggests. He looks at her like she just told him she’s going to buy him a flat TV for his motel room. He did not expect this.

“Ok. Sure, I’ll pick you up at six?” Norma nods. In that moment, she is so happy she wants to run around and scream. Of course, she doesn’t. Instead she takes a step forward, and wraps her arms around Alex. It’s the first time she hugs him, and even though she has secretly imagined this several times, nothing beats the real thing. She leans her head on his shoulder, and her heart skips a beat when he hugs her back.

Norma Bates didn’t even notice it, it snuck up on her and all of a sudden it was just there, like it had always been.

Norma Bates _Likes_ Alex Romero.

She can feel his chest move as he starts to talk.

 

“So, I guess I won’t have to destroy my clothes anymore?”


End file.
